Chapter 16: Capture
With a resounding clang, the kitchen knife and sword clashed. The knife scraped against the side of the sword, sending sparks flying and flames swirling.
The girl’s colorful skirt swirled around her as she spun, her sword flashing, deflecting the incoming flames.
A wave of chilling sword energy surged towards the young man once more.
His body was abruptly “pulled” away, flickering behind her like a ghost.
Du Yuejiao was inwardly surprised by his bizarre footwork.
However, it wasn’t unusual for a demonic cultivator to possess a few strange techniques.
Just like Du Yuejiao herself, she had some unique secret techniques passed down within her sect.
She moved her feet in the Nine Palaces formation, twisting her waist subtly to avoid the blade coming from behind.
Her spinning sword created a perfect circle, deflecting and counterattacking in a single fluid motion.
With the third strike, the tip of her sword aimed directly at the young man’s throat.
This was the “Three Talents Sword Technique” she had learned from her sect after advancing to the eighth rank.
Earth, Man, and Heaven, three consecutive sword strikes, from low to high, each carrying a distinct sword intent.
Another clang echoed as the kitchen knife intercepted her sword from the side, followed by a series of clashing sounds.
Shi Hao’s footwork was unpredictable, swaying and staggering like a drunkard, seemingly without any pattern.
Yet, he was constantly being drawn towards Du Yuejiao, as if by invisible strings.
His illogical footwork forced Du Yuejiao to retreat continuously, barely holding her ground with the tightly woven Three Talents Sword Technique.
She retreated in the Nine Palaces formation, stepping back into the forest.
Her sword flashed, and with crackling sounds, bark flew and branches snapped.
She quickly realized that the young man had used his strange movements to force her into the forest.
Her sword was long, his knife short. The dense forest favored his attacks.
Du Yuejiao snorted, deflected the kitchen knife with her sword, and with a flick of her left wrist, unleashed a flurry of palm strikes towards the young man’s chest.
Shi Hao also extended his left hand, using the Severing Meridian Burning Heart Finger to counterattack.
They circled a tree, their bodies spinning.
After a series of clashes and explosions, the girl’s body flew upwards, landing upside down on a branch. With a flick of her wrist, several invisible sword energies shot towards Shi Hao’s vital points.
This girl’s strength was indeed far superior to the Rat and Bat Duo, Zhao Haisong, and the others.
The kitchen knife flew from his hand, passing through the invisible sword energies. He leaped into the air as the girl also flew off the branch.
The branch snapped with a crack.
The young man flashed behind the girl, caught the kitchen knife, and unleashed a series of slashes.
Arching her back, the girl dodged the attacks, her toes tapping a stone, sending it flying.
Spinning, she swung her arm, her sword tracing a circle, aiming for the young man’s chest, intending to disembowel him.
The stone struck a tree, splitting it open.
Sparks flew as the kitchen knife deflected the sword, carrying the young man’s body with it.
In the next instant, the kitchen knife spun above Du Yuejiao’s head, disrupting her footing.
The blade sliced down, taking a few strands of her black hair with it.
The severed hair, illuminated by the sunlight filtering through the leaves, gleamed white, followed by a piece of her robe.
With a ripping sound, Du Yuejiao tumbled with her sword, her appearance now disheveled.
As she jumped up, the hem of her skirt was sliced open, revealing her grey trousers.
“Be careful, Miss,” the young man with the hooked nose said with a sinister chuckle, “Wouldn’t want to get cut and ruin your chances of marriage.”
Without pause, the kitchen knife, engulfed in demonic flames, danced around the girl, its blade flashing before and behind her.
Her sword was restricted by the trees, and she was in a precarious situation.
The young man’s tone was lewd, but his movements were calculated, attempting to disrupt her focus and cloud her judgment.
He was succeeding, pushing her further and further into a disadvantageous position.
So far, he had been successful. At this rate, she would inevitably fall into his hands, with no escape.
However, Du Yuejiao snorted disdainfully, a look of confidence on her face.
She reached into her sleeve and pulled out a circular jade pendant. She spun it, and a divine light spread outwards.
Suddenly, Shi Hao saw illusions of her everywhere, unable to distinguish the real one from the fakes.
No, every illusion was real.
He could clearly sense her energy flow everywhere.
Space shattered around him, fragments and pieces recombining.
He was trapped within a mysterious illusion, the girl’s figure attacking him from all angles.
Shi Hao was forced to roll on the ground, his kitchen knife held defensively.
Sword lights from all directions crossed above him.
He was struck in the back, his clothes torn, blood spurting out.
The girl’s triumphant laughter echoed around him, “Be careful now. If the cut is deep enough, you’ll die.”
As Shi Hao rolled beneath a tree, his body suddenly grew larger.
More sword strikes landed on him, but he remained unharmed. He grabbed the tree and, with a mighty heave, ripped it from the ground.
—Magical Weapon: Earthly Valor Tiger
—Effect: Grants a divine body and divine power for a short period, multiplying physical strength and power. Limited to one use per day.
Now twice his normal size, Shi Hao’s body was protected by the divine form.
The sword strikes, although shaving off parts of his divine form, couldn’t injure him.
Wielding the tree as a weapon, flames coursed along its bark, sweeping outwards in all directions.
He saw the tree and the flames reflected in the shattered space, everywhere he looked.
Protected by the divine form, he attacked relentlessly, using his enhanced strength to uproot trees, sending dust and debris flying.
The girl’s figure, although appearing everywhere in the shattered space, was now on the defensive.
Suddenly, her illusions converged, and her sword light intensified, like flashes of lightning, slicing through the incoming tree trunk.
Each strike was like a thunderbolt, carrying a silvery, moon-like glow. This was clearly her hidden, decisive sword technique.
Beads of sweat appeared on her forehead, the exertion taking its toll.
Shi Hao, in his massive form, uprooted another tree. This time, he focused on a single direction, charging forward like a bull.
Although he charged in one direction, the tree trunk, refracted in the shattered space, seemed to attack the girl’s scattered illusions from all sides.
Crack! The panting girl struck the tree trunk with her sword, the blade embedding itself deeply, but this time, she couldn’t slice through it.
The tree trunk, with her sword stuck in it, was flung aside. The massive divine form, like a descending mountain, loomed over her.
A powerful fist, carrying a fierce wind, slammed down.
The girl was struck in the chest and abdomen, her body arching as she flew backwards like a shrimp.
Terror filled her eyes. Fighting back the pain, she tried to escape.
Fingers pressed against her body, and she felt a scorching aura coursing through her meridians, sealing her acupoints.
She stumbled, and the bear-like figure grabbed her, holding her tightly as he ran through the forest.
“Let me go!” the girl struggled, pounding his arm with her fists, anger, fear, and helplessness mixing within her.
The scorching demonic energy flowed through her meridians, inch by inch.
Gradually, she lost herself in the unbearable heat and the unyielding grip, losing consciousness.
Just half an hour later, a cart loaded with charcoal slowly entered the city gates of Jin Prefecture.
The guards recognized the old charcoal seller who passed through every day and, after a cursory inspection, let him in.
Inside a hidden compartment beneath the charcoal, a limp body swayed gently with the movement of the cart—
“Yuejiao? Yuejiao?” Zhuo Mulan called out to her disciple as she entered the valley.
It was evening. Surrounded by mountains, the setting sun cast long shadows across the valley floor.
Zhuo Mulan knew her disciple came here every morning to practice her swordsmanship, usually returning to the monastery by midday.
Du Yuejiao always meticulously followed her daily routine, diligently practicing her swordsmanship and completing her lessons, never slacking off.
But today, she hadn’t returned by midday, nor had she appeared all afternoon.
A sense of foreboding gripped Zhuo Mulan, prompting her to come here.
She suddenly narrowed her eyes and flickered forward.
In a section of the forest, she saw broken branches, scattered leaves, and scorched earth.
Several trees had been uprooted, some charred by fire, some broken into pieces.
The clean breaks on the tree trunks were clearly from her disciple’s secret killing move, the “Moon Wheel Slash.”
She even found her disciple’s sword embedded in a tree trunk, halfway through a cut.
She searched the area but couldn’t find her disciple’s body.
After calling out a few more times, her anxiety growing, she hurriedly left the forest.
Soon, numerous Daoists arrived, searching the quiet forest under Zhuo Mulan’s direction.
“This place is so secluded. Who would come here to attack Nephew Yuejiao?” a Daoist holding a horsetail whisk frowned.
This was Daoist Song Cui, the abbot of Ming Kun Monastery, a tall, thin man with a high forehead and narrow face, resembling a bamboo pole.
“Yuejiao has no enemies. Why would anyone target her?” Zhuo Mulan’s face was filled with worry. “And her strength surpasses that of many martial artists. She also has the ‘Moon Phase Ring’ magical weapon. Whoever captured her is no ordinary person.”
“The attacker must be at least eighth-rank… or even seventh-rank!” Daoist Song Cui looked at the scorched ground, sensing the residual energy, “This person must be a demonic cultivator, possessing the rare ability to transform vital energy into fire. And looking at these uprooted trees, such strength is extraordinary. This person is either a supernatural ability user or possesses a magical weapon, most likely an Earthly Fiend weapon that enhances physical strength.”
Zhuo Mulan said urgently, “Brother, quickly send someone to inform the Marquis and the Six Gates. We must rescue Yuejiao no matter what. She’s a young woman, alone in the enemy’s hands. If we delay any longer, I fear… I fear…”
Daoist Song Cui said solemnly, “We can’t.”
Zhuo Mulan said angrily, “Why not? Saving her is our priority…”
Daoist Song Cui shook his head, “The theft of those documents hasn’t been resolved yet. If news of a disciple being captured spreads, it will damage Ming Kun Monastery’s reputation.
“And since the attacker dared to capture her, even the Six Gates might not be able to find her.”
Zhuo Mulan exclaimed, “Are we just going to do nothing?”
Daoist Song Cui lowered his voice, “Junior Sister Zhuo, there’s no use panicking. Think about it, the attacker didn’t kill her but captured her. He probably wants to make a deal with us.
“If you inform the Six Gates and they launch a citywide search, what if it forces the attacker to silence her…”
Zhuo Mulan’s expression changed.
Daoist Song Cui paced back and forth, “As for who Nephew Yuejiao might have offended recently… I heard that after returning yesterday, she seemed to have a strong prejudice against the young master of Small Han Mountain City…”
Zhuo Mulan shook her head, “It can’t be Shi Hao. I saw him fight. He practices pure Daoist internal arts, his energy carrying the aura of profound ice. The attacker here clearly practices demonic arts, his energy carrying the aura of fire. These are completely different cultivation methods. No one has ever been able to cultivate both Daoist and demonic arts simultaneously.
“Besides, he risked his life to save Li Tong just the other day, showing goodwill towards both the Marquis’ residence and our Ming Kun Monastery. There’s no reason for him to target Yuejiao today.”
Daoist Song Cui, finding her reasoning sound, dismissed the thought of Shi Hao and frowned, “In that case… the attacker is probably also after the God-Sealing Experiment.”
Zhuo Mulan looked up, “But the details of the experiment have already been leaked…”
Daoist Song Cui said coldly, “Precisely because it has been leaked, we overlooked this possibility. The attacker today is working with those who appeared on Red Mountain yesterday, but they’re not connected to the female thief who stole the documents.”
Zhuo Mulan’s expression changed, “Li Tong doesn’t know about the God-Sealing Experiment, but Yuejiao does.”
Daoist Song Cui sighed, “We can only secretly investigate for now, keeping this matter quiet, even from County Mistress Li Tong. And Senior Brother Lan Ke has gone to report to the Yue Ke Tai family. Since he’s not here, there’s no need to inform him. We’ll tell him when he returns in a few days.
“If Yuejiao is smart and refuses to yield, she might have a chance to survive. If the attacker can’t get any information from her, he might contact us.
“But if she’s forced to reveal everything and is no longer useful to them, I fear…”
Thinking of the misfortune that might befall her beautiful disciple, Zhuo Mulan clenched her trembling fists, helpless.
She couldn’t bear to imagine what those villains might do to her disciple.
The thought of the horrors Du Yuejiao might face filled her with anguish.
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